The aim of the French-German ANR/DFG-funded project 'CeramEgypt' is to study pottery productions in Egypt from Hellenistic to Roman times. Typological studies are integrated with the application of portable ED-XRF spectroscopy (Niton XL3t) in order to investigate geochemical variability within the typical raw materials employed in Egyptian ceramic production, including alluvial, marl and caolinitic clays. The archaeological and geochemical data will be made available via an open access online-database as part of the DAI-operated Arachne. In addition to the employment of pXRF, thin sections from selected sites are being produced to explore aspects of raw material selection and processing in this region. Pottery from various excavations has already been sampled and will be studied in Alexandria. A selection of sites, however, is covered via material from European collections. From these, thin-sections are being prepared and studied by the Competence Center Archaeometry – Baden-Wuerttemberg (CCA-BW) and the results will form an important part of the final publication of the project.

Links:

CeramEgypt Project website on Arachne

CeramEgypt at the University of Cologne